Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada
Gail Lem has a rich history of bargaining, advocating, and fighting for workers. In 1996, she was elected as the Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers’ (CEP) National Vice-President of Media, the top officer for the CEP’s 15,000-strong media section. This position represented employees in print and broadcast across Canada. Prior to this, she was SONG’s long-time president. “Newspaper carriers are without a doubt the most exploited workers in the Canadian newspaper industry,” she was quoted as saying in 1999 when carriers at the Star voted 787 to 250 to become part of the Southern Ontario Newspaper Guild, SONG/CEP Local 87-M. “They work in the dead of night in all kinds of weather for very little compensation.”